


Til Death do we Part

by KarlaSchmidt



Category: Dead Snow, Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead
Genre: Coma, Dead Snow - Freeform, Dead Snow 2, F/M, Herzog/OC, Suggestive Themes, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 09:50:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11575596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarlaSchmidt/pseuds/KarlaSchmidt
Summary: A Major of the Luftwaffe, Arya Rosenrot soon discovers that Standartenführer Herzog is far less daunting than he initially appears. Over the course of the Øksfjord occupation, the two draw closer than any could have predicted - so much so that a sudden attack on their main port by Allied bombers takes them by surprise. Little do the headstrong pilot and hardworking Colonel know that this will be last meeting in seventy years...





	1. First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Menschen! This is my Dead Snow fanfiction, because Herzog in all his hotness was just asking for it (I know that's mega weird, but someone has to love the bad guy!)! DISCLAIMER: If you're not comfortable with an OC in the Luftwaffe or Nazi themes -for fiction only- , then I apologise and suggest that you do not read further. This is a story and is not intended to offend anyone. Just a short chapter for now, because I have many drafts I need to work on! Thanks, please review if you have any thoughts or suggestions for future chapters.  
> Love, Karla

Swiftly striding through the frosty streets of Berlin, the twenty-five year old pulled her luggage along behind her as she made her way to the train station. Having set off ten minutes earlier, Arya was quite confident that she would arrive at the meeting point if not punctually, early; also, as she walked, the few citizens who were braving the unusually harsh wind made way for her once they saw her Luftwaffe uniform. However, this temperature could be considered a summer's day compared to the climate in her destination - a remote mountain town in Norway, which was a key port for the war. She was rather nervous about the prospect of leaving Germany, since her Squadron of twenty-three other pilots leaving with her, who had been ordered to protect the three-hundred man Einsatzgruppe assigned to the Norwegian town, barely seemed enough for the task.

Another few minutes passed until she arrived at the station, and she was relieved to find that she was nowhere near being the last person to arrive. In fact, Arya was one of only ten people on the platform out of the seventy-three who would be boarding the first train to Tappeluft, and then driving to their destination of Øksfjord from there. The Major would be responsible for the protection of Øksfjord and her Luftwaffe Squadron, while the renown Waffen-SS Standartenführer, Oberst Herzog, would be responsible for the occupation, and leadership of his massive Einsatzgruppe, Well, since Herzog was two ranks above Arya, she had to answer to him, however since they were both in separate branches of the armed forces, they of course had separate responsibilities as well. Having only heard of and seen a photograph of the Standartenführer, she had never met him face-to-face and was consequently rather nervous about working with him. From what she gathered, Herzog was a man who commanded fear and respect in even the most stubborn men. Although she utilised intimidation solely when necessary, the Major was also unafraid to use her rank and superiority over the non-commissioned officer and enlisted ranks; if anything, it was an aid to her confidence. Yet all that mustered imperiousness seemed to fade away when she was in the presence of a superior officer - at the end of the day, Arya Rosenrot was simply an obedient officer.

Scanning the small group of soldiers who were shifting for one foot to the other in impatience, she swiftly noticed the iconic single oak leaf Kragenspiegel of a Standartenführer. Deeply inhaling, Arya walked as calmly as possible over to the man, her boots clicking on the concrete platform. Hearing her approach, the Standartenführer raised his cold gaze from the timetable pinned to a board on the station wall to meet her rain-cloud grey eyes. His eyes travelled to her collar to inspect the brown Kragenspiegel, before they returned to her pallid face and a smile graced his visage. She noted that it did not quite extend to the icy-blue eyes which had surveyed her. "Ah, so you are the Major Rosenrot I am to work with. I am Standartenführer Oberst Herzog." he said, voice a deep bass-baritone. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Herr Oberst." Arya extended her hand, and Herzog shook it instantaneously, his leather-gloved hand offering momentary respite from the chilly atmosphere. Laughing, it seemed as if he had read her mind. "If you think this is cold, just wait until we arrive in Norway. I hear the coldest recorded temperature is minus fifty-one degrees Celsius." The thought almost made her shiver, so she returned his smile. Still, his charming grin did not extend to his eyes. Perhaps he doubted her skill in the cockpit... if so, it was most likely because the vast majority of Luftwaffe officers were male. 'Let him see me in the air, then.' Arya thought. 

In the time it had taken for them to introduce themselves, about twenty more people had arrived at the station, however with half an hour yet before the train arrived, the other forty-three still had time before they were expected to board. For a while, the two officers stood in silence - Arya had no idea if Herzog was comfortable or not with the lack of conversation. From what she had gathered, he always stood straight as an iron poker, unwavering in his imposing stance, and looked as if he were ready to break into marching at any moment. He simply surveyed the area, occasionally observing his present troops to ascertain whether their uniforms were presentable. She took in his appearance, from the vibrant blue eyes to the dark blonde hair which was swept back, mostly obscured beneath his cap; unknowing that he had noticed. "Like what you see, Major?" Herzog teased, raising an eyebrow, causing Arya to blink and blurt out a sarcastic reply. "Well, what I saw helped me see that beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Groaning internally in embarrassment, she was spared the trouble of possibly engaging in a banter match with the Oberst by the sight of the train. "Look, the train is here." She wondered if he knew she was lying; possibly. Probably. Closing her eyes in an attempt to black out all thoughts of Herzog, Arya vowed to never slip up around the superior officer again. Picking up her suitcase, the Major hastily strode towards her complete squadron to enter the train with them.


	2. The Journey Commences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo Menschen!  
> I really hope they make a Dead Snow III soon; that Herzog teaser at the end of the film made me so excited! Hope you're all well and please comment if you like to let me know if there's anything good or to improve.  
> Love, Karla

As expected of them, Arya's squadron boarded the train in uniform pairs, efficiently moving through the train to their seats at the rear carriages (for the third of the Einsatzgruppe with them would fill the front half). She could not help but feel a little proud of them as they took their seats calmly and began conversing - as a tigress feels as she observes her cubs mature. Although, one of the reasons Arya joined the Luftwaffe was that she knew that she could never be a mother; being confined to a kitchen while slowly losing her mind over a squealing (possibly bratty) child held no appeal whatsoever, despite what was encouraged by the propaganda. Some of the pilots - including herself - were becoming somewhat fidgety as they waited for the train to begin moving once the Einsatzgruppe had boarded. Outside, rain had begun to fall from the iron-grey clouds in a light drizzle, and the wind began to moan outside of the polished shelter of the train. Finally, the train began to crawl along the tracks, accelerating as it went - a product of the country's innovative strength. It was a full five minutes before the conversations transferred from small talk to actual discussions, such as what Øksfjord would be like, progresses and setbacks in the arial war effort and what the pilots had done over the past few days of preparation. Thankful for this turn, Arya swiftly joined a conversation about the small Norweigian town and port they would be defending, feeling rather awkward simply sitting and staring out the condensation-covered window. For a while, the four pilots and their Major continued chatting as brothers and sister, until the youngest of the group, Richard, announced that he would sleep for an hour or so. Glancing amusedly at each other, the others fell silent, so Arya stood to remove a book from her suitcase; deciding to plunge into fantasy for the next few hours. However, she had barely read for half an hour when a voice dragged her from the pages. "Major Rosenrot, the Standartenführer requests your immediate presence in his compartment." Looking up to see a fresh-faced soldier with radiant platinum-blonde hair, Arya nodded her compliance and gave him a small smile.

Rising from her seat, the young Major smoothed her deep blue uniform and followed the boy (as he could be no older than seventeen) to the compartment of the first third of the Einsatzgruppe, where they parted ways. 'Must have falsified the enlistment form.' Arya thought before knocking thrice upon the polished wooden door separating Herzog's private compartment from his men's. "Enter." Called the deep voice which was imprinted into her mind. As she did so, Arya said, "You asked for me, Herr Oberst?". Surveying her with his ice-cold, steely gaze, Herzog beckoned to her from his leather chair, replying: "Yes, Major - please sit, make yourself comfortable." Forcing herself not to fidget with the hem of her jacket, Arya did as her superior asked without hesitation. For a few silent moments, they simply observed each other. Pale grey eyes of the Major took in his well-defined cheekbones, the fine angle of his jawline. Meanwhile, Herzog viewed her pale skin, and her coal-black curls, causing her to feel like an exhibit in a museum. The Standartenführer noted that her placid gaze caused his skin to crawl with... apprehension? The desperation to understand this alien feeling incited him to reach for dominance once more, beginning their discussion."The reason you are here, Fräulein Rosenrot, is of course in relation to our occupation of Øksfjord. As you will know, this town's location provides an excellent port for the Kriegsmarine's battleships. Over the course of our stay there, I shall be inspecting these vessels. You obviously know your duty of defending my Einsatzgruppe from enemy attack, however unlikely." Arya nodded and replied: "We are entirely prepared for attack, Herr Oberst. These new plane models should more than suffice -". Suddenly, Herzog cut her off mid-sentence.  
"While we are alone - and only then," he told her in that deep voice which set her teeth on edge, "You may call me Heinrich." 

Unable to stop a peachy blush to creep across her cheeks, Arya clasped her hands tightly in her lap, much to Herzog's amusement. "Alright, Herr - Heinrich..." she replied, still quite uncertain; consequently, the Standartenführer snorted with mirth at her evident discomfort using his first name. As she grinned in response, Arya saw that for the first time since they had met, she saw a flicker of emotion in his cold eyes. For around an hour, the two officers simply chatted, disregarding for that brief span of time their ranks and the seriousness of the occupation. By the time she exited Herzog's compartment, Arya's cheeks were flushed an apt shade of rosy-pink from laughter and some other cause that she could not place. It almost seemed as if when they talked in that manner (as equals) that the weight on her shoulders seemed to evaporate and vanish. So obvious was this that the generally neutral-faced Major could not keep herself from grinning all the way back to her compartment. "What's got you smiling like that, Major?" Asked the observant pilot, Hans Lebemann, picking up immediately on her uplifted mood. Blush only worsening, she cursed the blood vessels in her cheeks profusely before replying evasively, "Nothing that should peak your curiosity -" Partway through her excuse, she was cut off by another pilot, Dietrich Morgenstern. "Weren't you going to 'discuss something' with that Standartenführer... Herzog? All this makes me question exactly what you were 'discussing' in his compartment, Fräulein Major...". With that, almost the entire cabin began to snicker, including Arya herself. Apparently, this would make for an interesting journey.


	3. Building Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo Menschen,  
> This one's been put off for a while because I've been struggling to fill the time space and flesh out Herzog and Arya's relationship - I'm assuming the wait isn't a massive problem considering this story's lower popularity... :). Either way, I apologise and promise to increase my writing pace, though motivation's the main issue. This chapter's quite short, as I was unsure of what else to include. One final thing, does anyone else wish Herzog was given a first name in the movies? Feel like anything I could come up with wouldn't be as well suited.  
> Auf Wiedersehen,  
> Karla

Despite the slight awkwardness of being in an enclosed space with Standartenführer Herzog for an extended length of time, Arya rather enjoyed the journey from the station at Tappeluft - for the views from the mountain road they travelled were exquisite. Half the time, the two officers simply gazed out of the windows at the icy beauty laid before them. While the pleasure they took from the scenery was immense, the carefree atmosphere of the train ride had melted under the presence of someone even as unintrusive as their driver, replaced instead by a neutral politeness, marked by small talk and long pauses in which the only sound was the purr of the car's engine. More than once, one had caught the other stealing glances at them, and had swiftly ended the gaze by a light cough, or averting their own focus. For this reason among others, it was a welcome relief to exit the car upon their arrival in the remote town of Øksfjord; framed by the nearby steep mountain slopes, each and every structure was adorned with glittering drifts of snow, forcing the Major to squint occasionally at the brightness. Smatterings of pine and spruce trees sprung up in the distance, contrasting boldly against their alabaster shrouds. Several clouds drifted across the fair sky, though they threatened no inclement weather - meanwhile, glacial water of the Arctic Ocean lapped against the shingle beach's edge. A welcome break from the oftentimes stifled air which the centre of Berlin offered, crisp zephyrs ghosted across Arya's pallid face, running through and lightly tangling her curls. Although the isolation of the area in comparison to her home country was a little disconcerting, she certainly admired the Norwegian nature - also, reality would eventually set in that she wasn't there for a holiday, but to defend Herzog's Einsatz. Speaking of whom...

Noticing that the Colonel was still observing the town with his steely gaze, Arya strode over to him, polished boots crunching in the snow. A wave of courage seemed to have overtaken the generally demure Major - this was, after all, a new assignment in a new location - as she suggested, "Shall we familiarise ourselves with the location then, Herr Oberst?". At this, Herzog turned and shifted his gaze to his fellow officer's lightly grinning face, replying with a half-smirk of his own: "Just what did you have in mind, Fräulein?". Gesturing to a nearby walking path which wound off into the hills, Arya offered her arm to her superior. To her surprise and pleasure, he gave a rare smile and accepted her outstretched hand.

Neither could have predicted that over the following few months leading to December, they would have grown closer than Oberst and Major - even after the constant teasing comments made by their soldiers. Instead, their friendship seemed to grow unnoticed by both of them, and it was only a matter of time before the barrel overflowed. Initially, a pattern of Arya meeting with Herzog for noontime strolls on the mountain path sprung up and the frequency only began to increase, until he would occasionally watch her and the squadron practising outside of his routine inspections (this accomplished unbeknownst to the Major with Herzog's binoculars). More recently, he had even invited her for tea in his allocated cabin, all the while assuring himself that he completely commandeered the situation, as well as his own emotions. Perhaps she knew, he reasoned, the effect she had on him with her amused smile, past traces of awkwardness or shyness forgotten now that she knew him better. How his chest constricted with pride when he caused her to snort or chuckle, often in a rather unladylike fashion; especially how, when they were alone, his usually harsh, unnaturally blue eyes would glint with mirth and Heaven knew what else. On the other hand, perhaps she went on unaware, only increasing his view on her of a feisty yet sometimes naïve young woman in her sense of confidence. Either way, Herzog (having felt the fuss over acquiring a girl was unnecessary and below him) was totally new to the emotions surrounding this woman. All that could be done was to wait for the opportune moment.

Meanwhile, Arya would puzzle over whether Herzog's actions towards her were simply out of friendship - and if she was pondering the subject too much. Despite the difference in their ages, she found what was initially a school-girl crush on the Colonel had progressed to full-blown affection over the course of their occupation so far. Perhaps it was presumptive of her to assume that the Standartenführer could ever return her feelings, focused as he was on his work - yet the glances and banter they exchanged when alone, suggested that it was possible. However, the lingering doubt that he wished to remain as friends coiled in Arya's mind like a serpent; if she dared make a move, months of awkward and amusing moments could be torn to shreds in seconds. Contradicting this was her natural instinct to take risks - as a pilot, it could pay off in a multitude of unpleasant situations - after all, how could she ever discover Herzog's true opinion if she cowered in silence? Piquing her interest was the fact that a prime opportunity was arising to show the commander; several of the soldiers had banded together to instigate a Yuletide event at the local bar the next evening, with the most recent music on Grammophone. Originally, Arya had deigned to forgo the event, but the fact that her superior was attending had significantly altered her stance. Therefore, the young Major resolved to appear to reveal any possible affections which plagued them both.


	5. Important Author's Note:

Hallo,   
For several reasons, I have decided to temporarily remove this story from the Archive, namely: the other works I still need to complete, some aspects of the plot which need to be altered and the amount of work I need to do otherwise. I apologise to any readers, and assure you that the future re-write of 'Til Death do we Part' will be improved significantly. For example, it is my opinion that the relationship moved too quickly and the use of time skips worsened this - to remedy this, I will add more scenes for Arya and Herzog to interact in between their arrival in Øksfjord and the Christmas party scene. During this interval in which I will continue to update my other works and fix this one, any suggestions you may wish to comment are welcome, such as what you would like to see in these aforementioned encounters.

For anyone who is interested, I am currently planning a series of one-shots which will span multiple fandoms, and include various OC pairings with select male characters. This will allow me to post more regularly, with a greater range of pairings to explore. Please take a look once I begin posting, as it will give me an idea as to whether I should continue to post longer works or extend the one-shots. Thank you for reading, and please comment any suggestions or thoughts below.

Karla


End file.
